99: Despair in the empty training hall!

Listening to the "beep-beep" busy tone coming from the phone.

Lin Feng's world had completely fallen into darkness.

The phone slipped from his weak hand.

It fell onto the expensive carpet without making a sound.

Just like his life at this moment.

Falling into an abyss without even an echo.

He sat alone, slumped on the massive sofa.

His body sank into the soft leather, but his soul felt as if it had been drained, leaving only an empty shell.

The apartment was very quiet.

Only the nearby television, which hadn't been turned off, was still making a constant chatter.

It was an ESPN sports commentary program.

Several analysts were speaking animatedly, using the sharpest words to dissect the Lakers' crushing defeat.

"Kobe's Achilles tendon is currently the biggest mystery in Los Angeles! But regardless, he won't be back for the rest of this series!"

"We have to admit that Lin Feng's individual performance was a joke in front of the San Antonio Spurs' precision war machine!"

"His style of play is too physically taxing! Popovich didn't even need to make any special arrangements; he just had Leonard and Green take turns wearing him down until he collapsed on his own!"

"I said long ago that this unreasonable style of play couldn't go far! Basketball is a team sport after all! He thought he was God, but the gods of San Antonio gave him a resounding slap in the face!"

"Now, add in his messy personal life scandals... I bet that at Game 3 in the Staples Center, he'll be greeted by a chorus of boos! He destroyed everything he built with his own hands!"

Those voices—every word felt like a needle stabbing into Lin Feng's ears.

He raised his hand and picked up the remote.

He pressed the power button.

"Click."

The TV screen went black.

The entire apartment fell into absolute silence.

Lin Feng looked around this luxurious yet empty home.

He had never felt so isolated and helpless.

Fans were cursing him.

The media was blaming him.

The women he once had entanglements with were rushing to distance themselves from him.

And now, the only girl he wanted to talk to, the only one who could bring him comfort, had also chosen to leave.

It seemed like the whole world was standing against him.

No.

What was even more terrifying was that the whole world seemed to be laughing at him.

He stood up from the sofa and walked aimlessly around the room like a walking corpse.

He picked up the keys from the table and walked out of the apartment.

He didn't know where he was going.

Subconsciously, he started the car and drove onto the empty streets of Los Angeles late at night.

Neon lights receded rapidly, pulling blurred streaks of light across his eyes.

Finally, the car stopped at the place he was most familiar with.

The Lakers' training facility.

This was where his dream began.

It was the place where he had shed sweat and conquered this city with one miraculous basket after another.

He used his fingerprint to open the door.

After a "beep," the heavy door slowly opened.

A familiar scent—a mix of sweat, disinfectant, and floor wax—wafted toward him.

The lights in the training hall were off, with only the faint light of the city filtering in through the windows.

The massive arena was empty.

Only the rows of basketball hoops stood silently in the darkness like silent giants.

The rims and basketballs all remained quietly in place.

Lin Feng walked to a rack and picked up a basketball.

The familiar, textured feel transmitted from his fingertips.

He walked to the three-point line, his most familiar position.

He raised his arms and took a shooting stance.

He wanted to shoot.

Even if just one shot.

Perhaps the sound of the ball swishing through the net could help him find a bit of his rhythm again.

But.

His arms were so heavy he couldn't lift them.

It was as if they were filled with lead.

His body felt hollow, unable to squeeze out even a shred of strength.

He gave up.

The basketball dropped from his hand, "thump... thump-thump..." bouncing in the empty arena, creating a lonely and hollow echo.

Eventually, the ball rolled to the side and stopped.

Lin Feng held his head and slowly crouched down.

Finally, he simply sat down in the center of the court floor.

Sitting right on that massive, Purple and Gold Lakers logo.

The cold wooden floor sent a chill through his thin clothing.

His mind was a complete blank.

Victory.

Glory.

The favor of women.

Money.

Everything he had once frantically pursued and obtained in a short period of time felt incredibly illusory at this moment.

Like a colorful soap bubble that would pop at a single touch.

He thought of the System.

He thought of those miraculous skills that once made him believe he was omnipotent.

Eye of the Heavenly Emperor.

It could predict everything and see through all of an opponent's movements.

But in the face of the San Antonio Spurs' fluid ball movement that had no fixed pattern, it saw everything yet could change nothing.

It was like a person seeing a flood coming but only being able to watch helplessly as they were submerged.

Formless Shot.

It allowed him to make a basket from anywhere in any posture.

But this divine skill was built upon massive physical exertion.

When his stamina was completely drained by the opponent's rotation and every shot was accompanied by intense physical contact, that miraculous shooting percentage ceased to exist.

An individual's limit ultimately cannot compete with a perfect system.

Despair spread from the depths of his heart like vines, entangling his entire being.

He even began to doubt.

Was everything he had gained even real?

Could it be that this was just a bizarre dream?

From being drafted by an NBA team, to meeting Yoona, to hitting the game-winner against the Jazz and becoming the hero of Los Angeles... everything was so wonderful it felt unreal.

And now, was the dream about to end?

When he woke up, would he find that he was still that Lin Feng struggling in the D-League, barely able to pay rent?

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

A massive fear gripped his heart.

He was afraid.

He was afraid of losing everything he now possessed.

He was even more afraid that all of this, from beginning to end, was for nothing.

Just as his will was about to be completely crushed, his spirit at its lowest point, and his entire being swallowed by endless self-doubt and despair.

A sharp, rapid alarm suddenly sounded in his mind.

This sound didn't come from the outside world; it exploded directly in the depths of his consciousness!

[Warning! Warning!]

[Detected severe negative fluctuations in the host's mental energy! The foundation of self-confidence is collapsing!]

[Signs of instability detected in the Charm Value System! Current Charm Value is slowly declining!]

[Charm Value: 95... 94... 93...]

This cold, emotionless system prompt sounded like a taser, stabbing hard into Lin Feng's chaotic consciousness.

Charm Value... is declining?

All of his power came from Charm Value!

A decline in Charm Value meant his basketball strength would also deteriorate!

No!

Lin Feng's pupils snapped wide open in the darkness.

He couldn't lose all of this!

Just as a shred of struggling will emerged from his fear.

The alarm stopped.

In its place was another prompt, even colder yet carrying a certain fatal temptation.

[Prompt: A higher-order form of the 'Generation of Miracles' skill exists—'ZONE'.]

[Unlock Condition: Complete 'Deep Intimate Link' with the corresponding 'First Night Achievement' target while both the host and the target have reached the state of 'Soul Resonance'.]